Coach Wooden's Pyramid of Success by Carty Jay & Wooden John

Author:Carty, Jay & Wooden, John [Carty, Jay]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2009-08-13T16:00:00+00:00

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38-39, NASB ).

C ARTY

Stephen was a picture of confidence. He stood solid before the first rock hit, did not waver as a hailstorm of stones flew toward him and remained confident even when the last rock struck his body with a thud. Stephen had delivered the first defense of the Christian faith, and as a result, he was stoned. The first Christian martyr, he had done his best, lost the battle, but won the war.

Three methods of stoning were prevalent in Stephen’s day: In the official method, a scaffold was built about the height of a basketball hoop. The accused was tied, escorted to the top and pushed. An accuser would try to drop a big rock on him or her. With pomp and circumstance, everybody would stand in a circle and throw rocks until the accused was dead.

A more common mode of stoning was done in a pit. Most towns had a stoning pit. It was cheaper than building a scaffold. The pit was 8 to 10 feet deep and 15 to 20 feet wide. The accused was thrown in and the townspeople threw rocks until the person was dead.

A third way was a plain old lynch-mob style of stoning. People would form a circle around the accused and chuck rocks at him or her. People didn’t like this method much because if you side armed a rock and missed, somebody on the other side of the circle might be hit.

Although Stephen was one of the first of seven Early Church deacons, he became better known as a preacher. When local Pharisees attempted to debate him, they lost—big time. In retaliation, they did the same thing to Stephen that they did to Jesus. They got false witness to testify against him and then put him on trial. During the trial, Stephen delivered what many consider to be the best defense of the faith ever. [1] After he had delivered his speech, Stephen was stoned to death. Because Stephen’s accusers wanted his death to appear legitimate, he was probably killed in a pit.

Stephen exhibited confidence. He was selected as a deacon because he was of good reputation, was filled with the Holy Spirit and displayed wisdom. [2] When he preached, he demonstrated grace and power, and through him the Holy Spirit performed great wonders and signs. [3] When accused, he remained confident in his faith. [4] When he spoke, it was obvious that he was filled with the Holy Spirit. [5] Stephen was confident that he was going to heaven; in fact, he said so just before the last rock hit him. [6]

Stephen was always prepared. He knew the Scriptures, had God’s wisdom at his fingertips and stayed filled with the Holy Spirit.

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